Gadget

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Two-time
Golden Globe® nominee Ewan McGregor stars and debuts as a director
in the deeply affecting father-daughter story “American Pastoral”
based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Philip Roth that
chronicles the profound changes in the last half-century of American
life. The adaptation focuses in on the Swede’s search for his
daughter and the resonant themes of uncertainty, shifting fates,
family and loss, that took the filmmakers nearly thirteen years to
bring to the screen.

“American
Pastoral” follows a family’s idyllic existence that was shattered
by social and political turmoil that will change the fabric of
American culture forever. Ewan McGregor makes his directorial debut
and stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a once legendary high school
athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn (Jennifer
Connelly), a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the
polished veneer of Swede’s life. When his beloved daughter, Merry
(Dakota Fanning), disappears after being accused of committing a
violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his
family. What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look
beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the modern
world around him.

Lakeshore
Entertainment producer Gary Lucchesi reflects on what drove him to
stay on course throughout the long but steadfast creative process: “I
have always wanted to make a father daughter story. I read the
script, I cried, and I knew I had to make the movie one way or
another,” he recalls. “I saw in it the story of a man who has an
uncompromising love for his daughter through thick and thin. I love
dramas about human beings that you can relate to and experiences that
you can imagine. That’s what really turns me on as a filmmaker.
Every now and then, you get a chance to do something like this that
you covet—so you give it everything you have.”

Ewan
McGregor, known for his wide-ranging roles in films spanning from the
innovative and edgy “Trainspotting 1 & 2”, “Velvet
Goldmine” and “Moulin Rouge” to the acclaimed dramas “Ghost
Writer” and “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” -- was attached to
play the central character of the Swede in American Pastoral long
before signing on to direct the film.

McGregor
knew this was a rare opportunity. Ultimately, it was his love of the
material that led to his decision to take a leap into his feature
film directorial debut. “I was very moved by the script and I was
completely taken by the Swede and the study of father daughter
relationships,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to direct,
but I didn’t want to just direct for the sake of it. I wanted
to have a story that I was compelled to tell,” McGregor
explains.